Lasagna in my mind is everything that America loves about pasta. It’s simple, it is hearty, warms your soul and is complete comfort food! America’s comfort food!
This isn’t just something you order at that Olive Garden place anymore, you can make this simple yet tasty version at home. Plus, it’s pretty much foolproof!
Recipe:
Best Lasagna Ever
2016-10-22 05:45:53
Serves 8
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
45 min
Lasagna
- 1 pound cooked lasagna noodles
- 4 ounces pancetta, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3/4 pound ground spicy italian sausage
- 1/4 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
Bechamel Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 cups provolone cheese, shredded and divided
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and more for serving
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Let's start by making the sauce. In a large dutch oven pot, cook 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the pancetta over a medium heat, stir until the pancetta is lightly browned. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and the red pepper and allow to cook until the vegetables have softened.
- Move the veggies off to the side of the dutch oven and increase the heat to a medium-high fire. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and cook the ground sausage and beef. Cook for 3 minutes and then start to break up the meat and allow to continue to cook, until well browned. Add the oregano, basil, parsley and the thyme.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 cups water, 1 cup milk, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the pot. Cover and simmer the sauce until thick, stir occasionally, for about 2-3 hours. If the sauce is too watery after about 2 hours, remove the lid and simmer until it thickens. Discard the bay leave, taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat.
- Now, lets make the Bechamel sauce. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a sauce pan. Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk, add nutmeg and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the provolone and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let this cool, stir to prevent a skin.
- Now, let's assemble the lasagna. Grab a 9x13 baking dish and grease it. Start to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- In the bottom of the baking dish, spoon 4-5 tablespoons of the marinara. Lay one layer of the cooked pasta over-top, now spoon 1/2 of the remaining marinara sauce over the noodle. Drizzle 1/3 of the Bechamel on top.
- Add another layer of noodles. Now add the remaining marinara sauce, and an additional 1/3 of the Bechamel. Another layer of noodles, add the remaining 1 cup of provolone cheese and the mozzarella cheese. Layer your last layer of pasta over the cheese. Pour the remaining Bechamel over the final noodle layer and sprinkle this with a little shredded provolone and mozzarella.
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray, and cover the lasagna. You can place the lasagna in the fridge for 3 days, or you can freeze it.
- Bake the lasagna for 1 hour, and then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Let it stand for 20 minutes before you slice it. If your lasagna was cold from the fridge, add an additional 20 minutes of cook time.
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